


Weathering the Storm

by Ndeplume



Series: The Cabin [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Cabin Fic, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ndeplume/pseuds/Ndeplume
Summary: The local weather station had been warning about the storm for days so Andy took it upon herself to make sure they were prepared. As did Booker, as did Joe, as did Nicky and Nile and Quynh. They were a family and families weathered the storms together, especially when two of them were so clearly dreading it.This is a story about what they all do to prepare.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Cabin [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121393
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	1. Food and Shelter

When the storm hit, they were prepared for it thanks to Andy. She had made another grocery run with Joe. She had helped Booker make sure the outside of the cabin was weather-proofed. She and Joe made sure they had plenty of blankets and the pair spent most of the day before the storm chopping wood for the fire. Quynh and Nicky sat on the porch watching them, legs crossed, mugs of coffee in hand, blankets round their shoulders. Joe, of course, immediately walked over upon finishing the stack of wood and shoved his cold fingers down the back of Nicky’s shirt, much to his husband’s chagrin. 

The four of them brought in the wood once it was chopped and Booker stacked it by the fire for them. He’d spent all afternoon cleaning the cabin. He was nervous about the coming storm. He and Quynh both had been nervous all day. While Quynh had distracted herself with watching Andy chop wood, Booker had put his anxiety into a slightly more productive outlet. The place was spotless. He had even done all the dishes Joe had promised he’d do “later”. The coming cold promised difficulties. They had to be prepared. 

Booker’s first death had been hanging. His second through fifteenth had been freezing. Then starvation. Then freezing, freezing, freezing. When Andy, Joe, and Nicky had found him, he’d been huddled naked, on the side of the road, frozen into a snowbank. After his hanging, the soldier took every scrap of fabric from his body. They were all freezing, after all, and how were they to know that Sebastien would need them again? 

It had taken days after the family found him for Booker to thaw and come back to life. Joe and Nicky had begun to doubt he would come back after such a traumatic beginning to his immortal life but he pulled through. After that experience, he had a more than healthy fear of the cold and preferred to stick to warm climates. Needless to say, he had not been thrilled when the only safe place he could find was a cabin in the Canadian Rockies. They were desperate though, so he’d snatched it up. 

Quynh had also not been thrilled. Her years in the frozen depths of the ocean had traumatized her in many ways. Even after almost 75 years above ground, Quynh still hated the cold. She didn’t swim anymore either. Andy was working on that with her but it was slow progress. After Quynh had established that she could swim if she had to, the pressure to keep in practice grew less urgent and the strong need for recovery grew. The cold was still an issue, though. No matter how hard she tried to acclimate herself, waking up in the cold never failed to send her into a spiral of terror. 

Nile and Joe, however, were thrilled. They adored the snow. It wasn’t as novel anymore as it had been when they both first became immortal but the thrill never seemed to wear off. The possibilities were endless! Snow forts, snowmen, snow sculptures, ice sculptures, sledding, skating, snowball fights, the list went on. Joe had been impaled by icicles no less than six times and buried in an avalanche no less than eight because of his sheer elation whenever it came to the snow. … and if Nicky ended up warming him after each icy death, then that was all the better. 

Joe had a plan for this snowstorm. He was very aware of his family member’s concern for the coming storm and was determined to stave off the panic and traumatic memories as much as he possibly could. He let his husband take over the more material needs and after the wood was chopped, Nicky began to cook. After all, they were in a very remote location and if the power went off, they couldn’t expect it back for a while. It was an hour’s drive to the nearest town. With the magnitude of the storm apparently on its way, they doubted the power would last more than a few hours. Nicky wanted to make good use of the stove while they had it, so he got to work making things they could keep in the fridge and cellar. Bread, soup, beef stew for Booker, Pho for Quynh and Andy, things that they could reheat on the fire. Joe and Nile made sure they were fully stocked on all sorts of snacks and fruit and vegetables so they wouldn’t run out of food even if the storm lasted a week or two. 

Joe used the rest of the day to put his plan into motion. He moved the couches to the side of the living room. He pulled the mattress off his and Nicky’s bed and off Quynh and Andy’s bed, lying them side by side on the floor in front of the fireplace. Joe gathered all the blankets and pillows he could find and created a massive bed in the middle of the room for them all. Booker and Nile both had their own rooms if anybody wanted privacy, but Joe doubted anybody would. The family had grown very close over the past few years and had come to rely on each others’ presence. Though they all needed their space from time to time, at the end of the day, they were a family. One unit, inseparable despite all the troubles they’d faced, despite all the ways they’d hurt each other. So tonight and until the snowstorm passed, they would stay together and support each other.


	2. A Good Distraction

When the wind began to pick up, Quynh stopped pretending she was okay with everything that was going on. Andy was helping Nicky clean some dishes in the kitchen when Quynh stalked up to her and wrapped her arms around her wife from behind. Andy silently finished cleaning the pot she was currently working on. She set it on the rack to dry then picked up a towel, drying her hands. Only then did Andy turn around in Quynh’s arms, gently but firmly pulling her wife in closer. Andy ran a hand up her back and stroked her hair. 

“Let me get this out of your face, sweetheart.” She murmured. “I’ll braid it for you.” She suggested. Quynh nodded, smiling faintly. She was fiercely independent and in all probability also the strongest woman on earth to have overcome the trauma she’d experienced. But she was also human. Sometimes it was nice to let your wife braid your hair, especially when it was such a perfect distraction from the oncoming cold. 

After emerging from the water, it had taken her a while to get used to physical touch again. The first person to touch her had been a woman fishing on the pier near the beach where she’d washed up. At the time, her touch had been so warm it burned her frozen skin. It had been overwhelming. But once she returned to her family, once she had begun to heal, she grew to love the physicality of their relationship in all its forms. Everything from a simple hand on her back to Joe’s bear-hugs to Nile’s modern high fives was beyond comforting. The touches grounded her and allowed her to feel just a little more in control. Now that it had been quite a while since her return, she didn’t often feel out of control anymore. All the same, cuddling was nice. Andy’s hands in her hair were nice. 

Quynh happily sat down in front of the fire as Andromache’s nimble, calloused fingers found their way to her hair. She had kept it long after emerging. Quynh loved her long hair. She embraced her femininity with a fierce pride that hadn’t wavered after centuries. Sometimes she liked to reminisce about the culture she had once belonged to. There were parts of it that she carried with her of course. Her favourite foods, for instance, were modern takes on dishes she remembered at feasts from her youth. She liked keeping up with the regional languages and music. But after centuries had passed, after millennia travelling with Andy, her identity took on a new and independent spirit which grew on its own, unsupported by any one region or religion or language or people and informed by many. Despite the independence of her spirit, she still found comfort in nostalgia. Perhaps that was why Andy humming an old tune she had learned on their first trip together to Quynh’s town seemed to settle her heart so easily. 

The scene was nice. Quynh was sitting on the floor, warming her feet in front of the small fire that was going in the hearth. It had only just started and was taking its time warming up. Andy was sitting behind her on top of the mattress to the left, a pile of pillows behind her to support her back. There were no lights on because until about ten minutes ago, the sun had been out. When it dipped beneath the mountain peeks, the dusky blue light illuminated the interior of the quaint cottage and cast a dull light through the living room and open kitchen. The only two light sources were the stove light and the fireplace, directly opposite each other. Quynh would have found it cozy if she wasn’t dreading the dark and cold so much. 

Quynh turned her head when Booker walked through the door to her left, appearing from the hallway where the bedrooms could be found. He nodded to them and flashed her a grin just as Andy tutted and straightened Quynh’s head so she could continue with the braid .

“Sit still or it’ll be crooked.” She warned, though her tone was anything but serious. Quynh laughed in a low tone, sitting up and straightening her shoulders dramatically, tossing a playful ‘yes ma’am’ back towards her wife. 

Booker appeared beside her and knelt in front of the fire, tossing two logs on the flames. No sooner had they landed than a strong gust of wind shook the windows. He visibly shuddered as he grabbed the poker and stoked the fire, muttering under his breath in French. Andy began humming again but Quynh didn’t need to look behind her to know that her wife was keeping an eye on Booker. 

Quynh’s time before the storm hit had been spent preparing in a different sort of way. While Joe, Nicky, and Andy had focused on the material things, she had focused on the little things she knew would help get Booker through. After all, there was no sense pretending everybody wasn’t aware that Booker and herself would have the hardest time with the storm and Quynh understood Booker the best out of anybody. She had spent the better part of two hundred and fifty years in his mind, after all. 

While trapped underwater, she had spent a surprising amount of time dreaming. After she would inhale water, there would be a minute or two where she was unconscious before her body gave out and she died again, only to wake moments later and restart the cycle. Sometimes, during those unconscious minutes, she would dream. The first dream she remembered was Booker’s hanging. The second, seeing her wife for the first time in centuries. After that she craved the dreams almost as much as she craved dry land. They provided an escape from her dire situation and they let her keep tabs on her little family, at least until he left them to go to his own family. Quynh had watched Booker raise his children. She had watched him bury his wife, sit with his sons on their deathbeds, mourn them so deeply that she felt his sorrow in her bones and reminded her what it was to be truly sad. It was through Booker that she remembered what it was like to be alive. 

Their bond was strong after those centuries. Quynh used it to their advantage when she could and right now was the perfect moment. After she did some of the maintenance work on the exterior of the cabin, she spent time in her room. Nile had showed her the iPad and introduced her to music streaming services. Quynh took to those very quickly and showed quite an aptitude for the devices (at least compared to Andy). It helped that they were brand new to her and she didn’t have to unlearn how computers used to work in order to use them. 

She spent the hours putting together playlists for herself and Booker. She found podcasts and downloaded shows and movies. She made sure the portable chargers that Nile had bought for them all were fully charged. Quynh made sure they had hours of content to distract themselves with if things got bad because she knew how much it helped to have that kind of creative distraction to focus on rather than their own thoughts.

“Done.” Came Andy’s voice out of the blue. Quynh looked up, realizing she’d zoned out. Andy squeezed her shoulders and gently draped an intricate braid over her wife’s right shoulder, pressing a kiss to her left. “You okay?” She whispered. 

Quynh nodded. “I’ll be alright.” She promised. “Always am, Andromache.” She grinned, leaning back to capture her lips in a tender kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been me rambling about backstory I mostly made up. Thank you for tuning in. Don't touch that dial because next up comes more made up stuff about the sad Frenchman.


	3. Clean and Tidy

Booker huffed to himself as he stoked the fire. He was wearing a warm under layer, a plaid shirt, and a corduroy jacket on top of it all but he still felt cold. Beside him, Andy was humming a tune he didn’t recognize and Quynh was staring into the fire, lost in thought. Joe and Nicky were in the kitchen, Nile was outside, but he still felt alone. It was frustrating. He’d spent all day trying to stave off this feeling but it was creeping back in, slowly but surely. 

That morning, Booker started cleaning. They had been in this cabin for three days so it wasn’t messy, but when they had arrived they’d been too tired to do much. The dust and dirt and cobwebs they’d found upon their arrival still occupied the space until Booker put his gloves on and picked up a broom. He liked this kind of work. Nile had offered to help him but he’d refused. Cleaning gave Booker a single minded purpose and his progress was evident. Besides, it was a great way for him to make himself useful. Back when it had just been himself, Andy, Joe, and Nicky, he’d found his place in their little family by taking charge of the cleaning. It was slightly unnecessary since they never stayed in one place long enough, but it was something he could do to prove he could help. 

Sebastien began by dusting. He found a modern looking duster in the supply closet and went through all the rooms. As he worked, he listened to a playlist Quynh had made for him a few months ago. He was pretty sure he was using Nile’s headphones, but they were far beyond the point of caring about that sort of thing. He methodically dusted the surfaces he could reach in each room, then he got out a long handled broom to get all the cobwebs and dust bunnies that were beyond his reach. He put all the sheets and towels into the laundry. Throughout the morning he replaced them with blankets and pillowcases and cloths he found.

All four bedrooms (well, three and a storage room with a cot - his room), the kitchen, living room, both bathrooms, and the laundry room were dusted in no time. He transitioned then to the vacuum and repeated each room. Then he mopped. Then he used a cleaning spray to wipe down all the surfaces and spent extra time in each bathroom scrubbing the showers, toilets, tiles, and sinks. He moved to the kitchen last. Booker cleaned all the dirty dishes from the night before. Joe had promised Nicky he’d do them later but Sebastien didn’t mind. He put them to the side to dry and then did all the counters, the sink, the fridge, and spent an hour on the oven alone. That was when Joe stepped in. He had just come in for a break from chopping wood. 

“Sit.” He said to his brother in arms, taking the cleaning spray and the cloth from Booker’s hands. “Wash your hands first, then sit.” He amended his original statement when he realized the cleaning spray was still on the cloth. 

Booker sighed but nodded, taking a seat at the counter. Joe opened the fridge and took out an egg and some bread. 

“I’ll make us something. You haven’t eaten today. It’s almost 11.” Joe admonished. His tone lacked any bite, though. He wasn’t concerned about Booker’s eating habits. He had just noticed that his brother had gotten so wrapped up in the task at hand that he’d neglected to take care of himself. The place was absolutely spotless, though. 

“I forgot. Got distracted.” Booker shrugged in reply. “Thanks, Joe.” He added with a ghost of a smile. Yusuf returned it with a bright one. 

“It’s an excuse for me to have a snack too.” He added simply, not wanting to shine a light on Booker’s anxiety. “It’s the storm. You know.” He sighed, glancing out the window apprehensively. Joe knew better than most, since he was the one who’d found Booker frozen into that snowdrift all those years ago. Despite the tens of thousands of deaths he’d suffered since, those first few always stuck with him. 

In reply, Joe simply placed a mug of tea in front of Booker. The Frenchman hadn’t even noticed him put the kettle on, yet here sat a perfect mug of tea. That was one of Joe’s many hidden talents. He brewed the perfect cup of tea or coffee exactly to the taste of his family members and wherever possible, he always had one at the ready when they needed it most. Booker picked up the mug with a grateful nod. He was tempted to add whisky but decided against it. 

Joe patted him firmly on the back as he passed behind him to grab plates from the drying rack. He thanked Booker for doing the dishes as he did, squeezing his shoulder again. Booker nodded, sipping his tea and tilting the mug in acknowledgement. 

“How’s it looking out there?” Booker asked while Joe began cooking some eggs. His nerves were poorly disguised in his voice as he glanced once more out the kitchen window. It was open to air out the cottage and the wind wasn’t particularly cold or strong, but there was a foreboding chill hanging low in the air. 

“It’s nice out for now. Andy and I are getting the wood chopped, there’s no sign of snow yet. Nicky’s got the radio out though and the weather person said that it’ll come around 4 or 5 this evening.” The crusader easily replied, flipping the eggs with practiced hands. “I thought we might all like to sleep in the same place tonight.” He added, leaving the stove to put the toast on plates. Joe raised his head to look at Booker, curls bouncing as he moved. 

“That sounds nice.” The blond replied, meeting Joe’s eyes properly. He was getting better at that. It was easier since he’d returned to meet Joe’s gaze. He’d been forgiven for his betrayal but building trust still took time. The fact that he’d been forgiven 25 years early helped, but they had a ways to go. That said, their relationship was still strong, as proved by the fact that Joe grinned happily when Booker agreed to his semi-plan and came to sit across from him, both plates of food in hand. 

—————————-

The easy conversation did more to help Booker stave off the unease than the cleaning ever could. Unfortunately, hours later as the light was fading and the cold seeping in, the sinking feeling returned. Sebastien sat back from the fire he stoked and watched as the flames climbed onto a piece of wood, slowly taking hold and consuming it. Behind him, Quynh made a joke about how she’d still never burned. Andy laughed. Booker was reminded that he wasn’t alone. 

He smiled faintly and sat back. Quynh’s slender hand grasped his arm and tugged him backwards so he was leaning against her and Andromache. Sebastien put his arm around the two of them, squeezing faintly as he watched the fire. The wind was picking up outside. It howled so loudly that Booker thought the house must be physically shaking. 

Just as he was about to ask where Nile was, the front door opened and she shouted ‘hello’ through the cabin. A gust of wind followed her, sending a chill through Booker’s body and to his core. Thankfully, she closed the door almost immediately. Booker looked to the left as she appeared through the tiny foyer. Nile grinned, sniffling from the cold and tossing her hat on a hook. 

“It’s so cool, you can see the snow over the mountains!” She exclaimed, giddy as she removed her boots and ran through the main room to peer out the window. Joe joined her. 

The view out the window was stunning. They were high up on the mountain and facing the open valley so the mountain range was spread out below them. Far away in the distance to their left, lights from the nearest town shone through the darkness. On the far right, dark clouds cascaded across the mountain tops and a wall of white stood out from the night sky. Nile leaned back and took a few photos. Joe grabbed his sketchbook and pulled a chair over. Booker turned away, his stomach twisting in knots as the wind slammed into the side of the cabin again. 

Their cabin wasn’t exposed, there was a barrier of trees keeping the wind out and keeping them from the worst of the elements, but tonight’s storm didn’t seem to care and the wind rocked the cabin anyways. The power flickered as if to say ‘good luck but we both know I’m not lasting long’. 

Andy pulled a quilt over Booker’s lap and reached over to tug his coat off. “Stay awhile, Book.” She teased, though he knew she was doing it so he’d feel more comfortable cocooned in the sheets. He appreciated it. The jacket was a false remedy, one which only made him feel bundled up and tense rather than warm. As Booker removed it, Quynh snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder. They’d get through it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you guys like this! Honestly it's mostly just character exposition at this point but who doesn't love a cozy winter storm?


	4. Avalanche Maintenance

When the snow began to fall, Nile was transfixed. She’d been staring out the window for a few minutes now watching as it approached them. She was still in the infancy of her immortality. Things that terrified others were delightful and fun to her. Of course, that was also simply who she was. Nile seemed to be able to find something good in everything. Though she had experienced tragedy beyond imagination in her short time on earth, somehow she’d managed to keep her head above water, to hold onto the beauty around and marvel at the world that was still so new to her. 

Joe was sitting next to her, face pressed to the glass as he watched the storm roll in. He loved her wonder for natural beauty. It was nice that somebody else seemed to share his near childlike excitement at the simple things in life. 

“Quynh and I hiked up to the top of that mountain yesterday.” Nile commented, pointing to the peak next to theirs which was currently being covered by snow. She wondered what it would be like to sit at the very top right now. She and Quynh had eaten lunch up there, sitting on the highest stone at the peak of the mountain, overlooking the valley below them on either side, the ridge of peaks spreading out in front and behind them. She imagined sitting on the flat stone overlooking the region, watching the massive storm approaching. She pictured the snow-filled clouds sweeping through the sky, the air growing cold and thin as the weather system approached. She felt snowflakes stinging her cheeks as the wind whipped her hair back, threatening to push her off her precarious peak. Nile saw herself sitting firm as the clouds finally overtook her, the snow billowing around her, slowly piling onto the ground as the drifts grew larger. The vivid thought made her smile to herself. The simple fact that no matter what, she’d come out of the storm and be stronger for it was heady. She had become quite the adrenaline junkie in the past years. 

Today for instance, while Joe and Andy chopped wood, she helped Quynh fix the roof and she helped Andy tie down some pieces of the cabin which stuck out too much into the wind. Then, she’d gone off on her own. The cabin was on a mountainside and though they had some shelter from the trees, there was always the risk of an avalanche. Nile spent the day causing avalanches around them so that when the snow came, the danger of a huge one would be lessened. Had she gotten buried in one or two? Sure. But she found her way out and moved on to the next cliff, no harm done. It was only minutes ago that she’d trekked her way back to the cabin and come in to warm up, door securely locked behind her. 

“Your hands are freezing, Nile. And your braids are literally frozen in place.” Joe commented beside her. He put his hand over hers to feel the cold skin and watched as one of her braids, caked in snow and ice, slowly unfroze and began dripping water down her shoulder. Nile just laughed, shaking her head and hitting Joe with her braids. 

“I’ll go put on dry clothes.” She promised. After all, the storm was upon them now and the view out the window was essentially just whiteness. She pushed off from the window and walked to the small bedroom she’d picked out. Apparently Booker had been in it because it was absolutely spotless. He’d even made her bed with fresh sheets. The care with which he’d organized their room was heartwarming. Nile began to undress when Joe tapped on her doorframe. 

“Have a shower too, just in case our pipes freeze.” He reminded her. All of them had bathed that day so that if they were without a shower for a few days, at least they’d begun the storm clean. Nile tossed her sweater onto her bed and thanked him as he walked back to the living room, then tossed her wet clothes in a laundry basket and wrapped a towel around herself. Nile walked over to one of the two bathrooms. She, Joe, and Nicky were sharing this one and the amount of miscellaneous products on the counters made her chuckle. On missions, all of them shared a single ‘8 in one’ off brand cleanser that Nile swore was originally made to clean floors. 

Since the past months had been spent on the run and always moving, they’d had to make do. But once arriving in this cabin, the first thing they’d done was pick up the personal supplies they had to do without. It sounded like they could stay here for a while, so everyone leapt at the chance to have their own things. Today was a hair-washing day for Nile, so she methodically undid all her braids and grabbed her products from on top of and under the sink. 

The warm water was a blessing. As much fun as tempting mother nature had been, it was nice to warm up afterwards too. She was looking forward to the next few days. This was her first big snowstorm where everyone was together and they had nowhere to go. Humming an old Frank Ocean song to herself as she washed her hair and body, Nile’s good mood only grew. After a while, she stepped out of the shower and walked back to the bedroom to dress again. 

Soon enough she was dressed in soft leggings, a crop top, wool socks, and a big sweater. Her hair was loosely piled on top of her head, wrapped in a towel as it dried. The instant she came out of her room, she smelled chocolate and her smile grew. She saw Joe standing at the stove pouring a vat of hot chocolate into six mugs. They still had power and were clearly trying to make the best of it. Booker had put on a movie and their devices were all plugged in. Nicky had joined Quynh, Andy, and Booker in front of the fireplace and was reading a book by the lamplight. 

Nile swept over to Joe, sliding on socked feet across the hardwood floors. He smiled warmly at her and passed her two mugs, which she took over to Andy and Quynh. She delivered the next one to Booker and took her own last, while Joe delivered Nicky his and then cleaned the pot. Finally, they all found a seat in front of the fireplace. 

The power went out ten minutes later after a particularly strong gust of wind. Everything was quiet for a moment before Booker sighed, pressing a few buttons on the remote. 

“Guess we’re never going to know if they get that ring to Mordor.” He commented playfully, tossing the remote aside. Nile laughed, kicking his thigh. She moved off the chair she’d sat on and took a seat between him and Quynh. “Cards?” Booker asked as she relocated. The tension was already seeping into his voice as the wind howled and the darkness seemed to take over the cabin, the only light emanating from the warm hearth in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't seem to come up with a good chapter name for any of these chapters but I hope you enjoy anyways!


	5. Miscellaneous Tasks & Oversight

Andromache was very good with her hands in every sense of the word. She had many talents and had learned thousands upon thousands of skills, she had forgotten even more, but one thing that never changed was the fact that when a storm came, you needed a sturdy shelter and warmth. No matter the century, Andy was good at providing those things. She had woken up with Quynh in her arms and a fiery determination to make sure her family got through this. As much as they liked to pretend things were fine, she was very aware that her wife would need her, as would the rest of her family. 

Then Quynh woke up and they stayed in bed a little longer than normal. She had been out all day the day before, hiking with Nile, and had come home late in the evening and been too tired for anything more than a kiss. 

Once they were up, Andy made them breakfast and they both got to work outside. Andy helped Nile and Quynh figure out what needed work on the outside of their cabin. Nile volunteered to fix the roof tiles and Quynh helped with some things closer to the ground. Andy did work securing and strengthening the pipes and making sure she knew where they ran underground in case one froze and they had to do repairs. When Nile fell off the roof, she decided the work was done. 

They all went their separate ways. Joe had been chopping wood all morning and had taken a break to make a snack, so Andy took over. She liked chopping wood. She liked using an axe, she liked the strength she could put behind her swing, she liked the way her shoulders burned and the wood split cleanly beneath her. 

Quynh quite liked it too. She joined Nicky as he tried to fix the radio they’d found. The pair were on the patio facing the wood chopping block. Quynh settled in a chair, fiddling with a device while Nicky took note of the radio channels. Andy flashed her wife a grin as she took a particularly strong swing and split a block of wood in one hit. 

Joe joined her twenty minutes later. He brought tea for both Quynh and Nicky before taking his place next to Andy, picking up another axe as the two of them got to work. Nicky and Quynh didn’t bother pretending to be focused on anything else. 

An hour later, they had enough wood to fuel a fire for weeks. It was overkill but warmth was absolutely paramount to Quynh and Booker, and since they weren’t in any risk of running out of food, they didn’t need to conserve energy. Besides, from the sounds of things they were going to need it. Nile jogged past them shouting something about avalanche safety half an hour ago and they could hear a gunshot, faint rumbling, and laughter. Nicky’s phone buzzed with a note saying she was good. 

They carted the wood inside the front door and Booker took some to the fireplace. The rest was kept near the front door and stacked down the hallway to the laundry area, on the right of the entranceway. 

Once the wood was in the house, Quynh went to their room. She needed space and time to herself so Andy made sure she had some tea and left her alone for the afternoon. Andy kept herself busy with whatever she could think of. She put the car in what felt like a safer place, she checked on the emergency generator, she busied herself around the place until the wind picked up. 

Andy walked into the kitchen and stood next to Nicky, helping him as he finished whatever he was making for the storm. Most of their food wouldn’t need to be refrigerated but Nicky had insisted on making a stew and soup they could put outside to freeze and could heat by the fire. Andy did the dishes for him as a silent act of gratitude to Nicky for taking such good care of them.

Quynh’s arms snaked around her waist and Andy finished what she was doing before she took her wife into her arms. The warrior felt whole again when she held the other half of her soul. It was an easy suggestion to braid her hair. Quiet moments like those were invaluable when their lives were so tumultuous. Quynh would often help Andy by cleaning her axe or massaging her shoulders. Andy returned the favour by doing Quynh’s hair or whittling her some arrows. The pair were perfect for each other and they existed on precisely the same wavelength. 

Quietly sitting and braiding her wife’s beautiful hair was a contemplative art. Nothing else around her mattered as she hummed a very old tune and combed through the silken mane. When Nile came into the cabin, she hardly moved a muscle. When Nile and Joe got giddy as the snow began to fall, Andy simply smirked to herself because Quynh made a comment about their youthfulness. The pair were like peas in a pod. Nile’s nostalgia for winters in Chicago combined with her still-fresh immortality meant that she always seemed to experience these winters more fully. Though Andy knew that the snow certainly brought a sense of melancholic nostalgia for her, the storm about to come would be like nothing she’d seen before. It was always fun to watch the new immortals experience things for the first time. 

As Booker began to stoke the fire, Andromache finished with her wife’s intricate braid, tying it off with a soft velvet scrunchie Nile had gifted Quynh a while back. She sat quietly, observing the rest of the family as they moved about the cottage. Booker was on edge. Quynh still sat between her legs and was trying her hardest not to tense up at the howling wind, she was Andy’s main priority. 

The hot chocolate was delivered and Andy patted Nile’s cheek fondly when she bent down to her level. This was good, she thought, surveying the living room. The lights went out minutes later and Andy set her drink to the side, her arms returning to her wife’s waist. Booker’s suggestion of playing cards by the firelight was a good one and soon, all six of them were seated in a circle. Unfortunately, that meant Andy had to let go of Quynh, but it was for the best (at least for now). 

“It’s called Cheat.” Nile explained. “Each of us places one to four cards face down in a pile. Your aim is to have no cards left and you can only put down either the same number or the same suit that was placed before. Everyone has to try to guess whether or not you were lying about the cards you put down and if you’re caught cheating, you pick up the whole pile. If I call cheat on you and you weren’t cheating, I pick up the whole pile.” 

Andy loved the sound of this game and she grinned wickedly as she peeked at her own deck. She was brilliant at cards and at cheating, this game would be simple. After two practice rounds, they began for real. Two things became abundantly obvious. The first was that Nicky was very bad at this game (though Andy suspected he was hustling them - he had a talent for that). 

“Five jacks.” Nicky said with the confidence of a man who was trying his best. 

“Cheat.” Came a chorus of everyone except Joe, who firmly stood by his husband 

“I believe him. We got a faulty deck of cards, or perhaps two mixed together.” He protested, though Nicky was already gathering the small pile into his own hand. ( “I tried, Habibi.” “I know, my love. A valiant effort. Thank you.”)

The second thing that became abundantly obvious was that Andy was very clever when it came to ways to cheat at Cheat. On her second round, she placed “two fours” and put down her entire hand except for a single card. (The Queen, of course). Nobody caught her on that turn, but after she won on her next hand, everybody grew a lot more wary of everyone else. 

The card game had been a brilliant way to pass the time. Quynh and Booker were sufficiently distracted, Nicky had indeed been hustling them and Andy was reminded of how convincing he could be (“But do you really wish to stake your hand on that call, Andy? Perhaps I’ve been saving up my cards all game to have all four Aces and one final card leftover, and if you’re wrong, you pick up the entire deck. But it’s your choice.” Nicky won that round). 

When they decided to put the cards away for now, the sun had long since dropped behind the mountain and the storm had completely overtaken their little cottage. The heat from the fire was more than enough to keep them warm, but Andy noticed Booker pulling the blankets tighter around himself and Quynh eyed the windows apprehensively. They were getting into the thick of it now. Andy had the backup generator but it could only give them a few hours of power, maybe a full 12 if they were lucky and could spare the gasoline, and she wanted to hold off until things got dire. 

“Why don’t we put on some of that music you were putting together earlier?” Andy suggested, directing her question to her wife. Quynh seemed amenable and spent a few minutes choosing a playlist before putting it on and lying down with Andy. On the surface, the scene was lovely, but now that the storm had begun in earnest everybody was on edge. Quynh’s hands were shaking ever so slightly. Booker looked miserable as he stared into the fire. Andy shared a look with Nile, Joe, and Nicky. They were in for the long haul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments! I'm glad you like the chapter names so far! This style has been fun to play with, doing a different POV for character development and inching the story along each time is harder than it seems but super fun. The next work in this series will be the actual storm itself.


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